1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to holders and clips for holding the, squeezed, bottom end of a partially-used tube, such as is used for toothpaste and creams, in a more compact configuration. More specifically, the present invention is a clip for controlling such a tube when it is in a coiled configuration.
2. Discussion of Background
Most toothpaste tubes are currently made of plastic. Heretofore, tubes were made of metal foil and were subject to tearing or being perforated, resulting in paste or cream issuing from hole formed by the tear or perforation. The unsealable hole enabled air to reach the paste or cream so that it would dry and cake. Metal foil tubes were thus unsatisfactory and plastic tubes gained rapid public acceptance.
However, in one respect, metal tubes were superior to plastic tubes: metal tubes did not have the "memory" that plastic tubes have. Memory is a characteristic of materials that is related to resilience. A material with memory will, after stress has been relieved, tend to restore itself to a configuration the material was in before the stress was applied. A plastic tube if coiled will tend to uncoil; a metal foil tube will much more readily remain coiled.
For reasons of economy, many people prefer to exhaust the supply of toothpaste in a tube before discarding it. Removing the toothpaste from a plastic tube is, to some extent, much easier than removing the toothpaste from a metal foil tube because the plastic tube can be subjected to squeezing without concern for perforations and tearing. But after squeezing the tube from the bottom end to the cap, the tube should be coiled to prevent the toothpaste from migrating away from the cap end of the tube. However, the tendency of a plastic tube to uncoil and straighten enables the toothpaste to migrate; a straightened tube encourages some people to squeeze the tube from the middle or top, near the cap, rather than from the bottom where they should if they want to force the toothpaste in the tube toward the cap. Finally, a partially spent toothpaste tube, with the marks of squeezing on it, does not look very neat.
There have been a number of attempts made to provide suitable clips and retaining clamps for toothpaste tubes but they are generally ineffective or overly complicated. Many of these hold the emptied end of the tube in a tight, round coil, clamped securely between the jaws of the clamp. The tightness of the jaws makes it difficult to put the tube into and remove the tube from these clamps. There remains a need for a toothpaste tube clip that will control the tendency of plastic tubes to uncoil and yet is convenient to use and inexpensive.